The futures traded higher Wednesday, after the stock market was able to finally sustain a rally on Tuesday. The S&P 500 bounced off the 3,800 support level, and all the major indexes closed positive despite ending way off the earlier highs of the day.
In a surprise move, the Bank of Japan adjusted the cap on its 10-year government debt. While not technically a rate hike, it signals that after years of ultra-loose monetary policy and low rates, the Japanese central bank may be thinking about reworking its policy stance. With that noted, it remains to be seen just exactly how the bank will proceed in 2023.
The stock market managed to rally despite interest rates once again surging across the Treasury curve. The 10-year and 30-year yields both were once again up over 10 basis points. Despite the rise in the 10-year, the inversion with the two-year note stayed firmly in place. The 10-year closed at 3.68% and the two-year at 4.26%. Bond traders see the inversion as a harbinger of a potential recession.
Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude finished modestly higher on the day, and once again the biggest casualty in the energy patch was natural gas, which closed down over 7% on the day at $5.41. Gold and Bitcoin both had strong sessions, with the cryptocurrency up almost 3% as it closes back in on $17,000.
24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.
These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.
Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT): Deutsche Bank downgraded the shares to Hold from Buy and lowered its $106 target price to $75. The consensus target is $102.50, and the final trade on Tuesday was recorded at $65.07.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL): J.P. Morgan reiterated an Overweight rating but trimmed its target price to $190 from $200. The consensus target is $176.45. The stock closed on Tuesday at $132.30.
Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAM): BMO Capital Markets upgraded the shares to Outperform from Market Perform and lifted its $61 target price to $66. The consensus target is $80.08. Tuesday’s close at $41.59 was up close to 4% for the day on the upgrade.
Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX): Truist Securities raised its $50 price target on the Buyated shares to $54. The consensus target is $49.32. The stock was last seen on Tuesday trading at $45.84.
Capri Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: CPRI): Raymond James initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $65 target price. The consensus target is $63.55. The stock closed on Tuesday at $55.42.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating on the stock, which is one of the firm’s top ideas for 2023. The $260 target price compares with the $226.71 consensus target and Tuesday’s close at $235.14.
Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN): J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral and has a $60 target price. The consensus target is $62.29. The stock closed on Tuesday at $49.27.
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